Method and system for repurposing a spreadsheet to save paper and ink

A computer comprising:

• one or more programmable processors;
• and
• a storage device communicatively coupled with the one or more programmable processors and tangibly embodying instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to perform operations comprising:
• receiving an indication that a printout of a spreadsheet has been requested, the spreadsheet having content with a format that would result in a first quantity of pages being printed;
• automatically performing an analysis of the spreadsheet to determine if any of a plurality of isolated regions in the spreadsheet share a horizontal or vertical edge;
• automatically merging two or more of the plurality of isolated regions in the spreadsheet based at least in part on the analysis, the two or more of the plurality of isolated regions containing logically related content;
• automatically determining each print zone in the spreadsheet, including a print zone based at least in part on the merged region, each said print zone including a group of cells;
• and
• automatically generating a green spreadsheet such that the green spreadsheet has a second quantity of pages that is less than the first quantity of pages.

A computer comprising:

• one or more programmable processors;
• and
• a storage device communicatively coupled with the one or more programmable processors and tangibly embodying instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to perform operations comprising:
• receiving an indication that a printout of a group of cells has been requested, the group of cells having content with a format that would result in a first quantity of pages being printed;
• automatically performing an analysis of the group of cells to determine if any of a plurality of isolated regions in the group of cells share a horizontal or a vertical edge;
• automatically merging two or more of the plurality of isolated regions based at least in part on the analysis;
• automatically determining each print zone in the group of cells, including a print zone based at least in part on the merged region, and each said print zone containing logically related content;
• automatically transforming each print zone into a transformed print zone;
• and
• automatically generating a green spreadsheet comprising each transformed print zone such that the green spreadsheet has a second quantity of pages that is less than the first quantity of pages.